How Beyoncé Fits Into the Storied Legacy of Black Country

On March 16, 1983, the Country Music Association (CMA) celebrated its 25th anniversary, and I was invited. Buddy Killen, the song publisher who pitched “Heartbreak Hotel” to Elvis Presley, thought “the Black girl from Harvard” might just be the second coming of that hit’s songwriter, Mae Boren Axton. He put me on the guest list and paid for the tickets.

It was a complicated night. The event was held at the DAR Constitution Hall, built by the Daughters of the American Revolution, an infamous venue whose management had refused to allow Black opera star Marian Anderson to perform on its stage in 1939. I took special pleasure in seeing guitarist and singer Charley Pride stride onto that stage—in a building named to honor the U.S. Constitution, but run to exclude Black artists—and stake his claim as part of that “We the People” that document claims to represent.

At one point in the ceremony, singer Roy Acuff announced that “country music is a family.” Then he proclaimed Jimmie Rodgers “the father” of that family. But he did not mention Lil Hardin Armstrong, the pianist who played on Rodgers’ hit “Blue Yodel No. 9.” Acuff nodded to Will Rogers, the comedian, but shamelessly omitted DeFord Bailey, the Grand Ole Opry’s first superstar.

My idea to name and spotlight the First Family of Black Country was conceived in that moment. It was nurtured in the silence of missing names. Quiet as it was being kept, country had Black founders. I knew it; Buddy Killen, who arrived in Nashville playing bass for a blackface comedy act on the Grand Ole Opry, knew it; Roy Acuff, who had played on stages with Bailey, Ray Charles, and Pride, knew it. And more than four decades later, Beyoncé knew it when she broke the internet on Super Bowl Sunday by surprise—releasing two country songs and announcing an album, Cowboy Carter, which has her devoted fans in the Beyhive buzzing about line-dancing into the summer of country.

Read More: Beyoncé Has Always Been Country

That evening back in 1983 was constructed to be country’s coming-out party as a musical genre worthy of exceptional respect because it was a reflection and celebration of America at its best. And that best was being defined as a family having only white founders—and not a single Black woman in sight. It was a fallacy that could only last so long.  

The way I see it, modern Black country was born on Dec. 10, 1927, when Bailey, descended from enslaved Tennesseans, lifted his harmonica to play “Pan American Blues” on the Nashville radio show Barn Dance. Fast forward to July 16, 1930, in Los Angeles, where Armstrong made country music history as the first Black woman to play on a hillbilly record that sold a million copies. And Lil didn’t just play on the session—her piano drove the session.

Country is not as many have posited: a genre with Black influence but without Black presence. Black women have been present since the earliest days of country’s existence as a recorded and commercially marketed music form. But a custom of cultural redlining has not only kept Black women out of country writing rooms, off country airwaves, off rodeo stages, off the country charts; it has also worked to keep the few Black women who managed to evade the gatekeepers off the entertainment pages, and out of the history books.

This would change. Nobody sitting in the room that night knew it, but there was a little girl toddling around a two-story house in Houston who would bring the long era of -erasing Black country sounds and stories to an abrupt end. The calculated erasure that began at one large public party with expensive tickets in 1983 ended during another, Super Bowl LVIII, when Beyoncé released “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages.”

Along with “Daddy Lessons” off of 2016’s Lemonade, these songs have established Beyoncé as heir to a Black country musical tradition that dates back to the 17th century, when the first banjo was strummed by Black hands on American soil. Like DeFord Bailey’s, Beyoncé’s country songs are grounded in aural rural realities: the screech of the passing train, the sound from the local bar where folk are dancing. Like Lil, she understands the power of a costume and a trumpet. Like Ray Charles she brings a whiff of the Black cosmopolitan. Like Charley Pride she exudes a radiant Old Testament Song of Songs sexuality that is at once hot and holy. Like Herb Jeffries she embodies the cowboy who stays close to nature and guns.

The erasure did not end just because Beyoncé Knowles Carter became the first Black female artist to top the country charts, though she did that, on Feb. 24. And there are many others who have laid the groundwork for this catalytic moment: Linda Martell, the Pointer Sisters, Rissi Palmer, Rhiannon Giddens, Mickey Guyton, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, and O.N.E the Duo, to name just a few.

The erasure ended when she started a sustained national conversation, getting America to talk about and celebrate neglected Black country legacy. The question of “Who can be in country music?” often masks a deeper query about “Who can be a real American?” Beyoncé’s was a loud announcement of a reality long denied, that she was “We the People.” And so were people who looked like her.

Courtesy of Black Privilege Publishing, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.

I’ve often said that country music is three chords and four truths: life is hard, God is real, whiskey and roads and family provide worthy compensations, and the past is better than the present. That last truth is one of the places where country often experiences a racial split. In much of white country, the past that is better than the present exists in a longed-for and lost mythical Dixie. In Black country, the past that is better than the present exists in a longed-for and lost Africa before colonization.

Country music is commonly defined as American folk music with Celtic, African, and evangelical Christian influences. My ancestors come from Cameroon, Nigeria, and Mali, from Scotland, England, and Ireland. I am country music, embodied. I started songwriting sitting under a Motown cherry tree, about the age of 5, in 1964. I would eat candied cherries, watching a sea of cars flow by on the John C. Lodge Freeway, and let country songs—from my grandmother’s lips, my mother’s radio, my aunt’s -stereo—roll ’round my head. I started off singing other people’s words then one day I started singing my own, the auspicious beginnings of a career that would land me in the top spot on the country charts.

Read More: Black Artists Helped Build Country Music—And Then It Left Them Behind

My daddy hipped me to the fact that it was Lil Hardin on Jimmie Rodgers’ biggest hit, and that there were probably a lot more Black folks passing for white on country records. He would look at some sheet music or hymnal, then ask, “What you bet Traditional was a colored girl?” 

I write country music because it is a way to make what is too hard to bear somehow bearable. Beyoncé in “Texas Hold ’Em” does this same work, squaring off against tornadoes, heat waves, and lovers losing courage, as DeFord had squared off against a sense of being relentlessly pursued in “Fox Chase.” Both songs transform hardship into a particular flavor of playful and hopeful joy I recognize as country.   

To close out the CMA anniversary show, Ray Charles sang “America the Beautiful.” Listening to the man behind what has been called the greatest country album, 1962’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, it struck me how entwined he was in the legacy of Black country. This was Armstrong and Bailey’s genius child. Next to him was country-as-corn-bread Pride, a spiritual love child to Bailey. On the other side of the family tree, Herb Jeffries, who wasn’t present in the auditorium but should have been, was Armstrong’s stepchild. 

Among a sea of white people, including the President and Vice President of the U.S. and the presidents of every major country-music label, I had an inkling I was the only person in that room worried about singing Black cowboys, worried about Jeffries, wondering why he wasn’t there.

Now Beyoncé has changed that room entirely. Cowboy Carter is poised to be a brilliant new beginning and a culmination. As I see it, Beyoncé is the genius child of Ray Charles. The daughter who eclipses the father. The reflected light of her triumph makes visible both the lineage from which she aesthetically descends and the reality that Black country is a big tent with many entry points: from banjos, harmonicas, and cowboy songs to movies and Motown cherry trees. Beyoncé raises this question: If country owes a significant debt to Black culture, what in America doesn’t?

Adapted from My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music’s Black Past, Present, and Future. Copyright © 2024 by Alice Randall. Reprinted by permission of Black Privilege Publishing, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.

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The Hime Cut Is Gaining Traction With Black Celebs In An Era Largely Stifled By Remakes And References

Strawberry-glazed cheeks, latte makeup, mob-wife aesthetics — if those terms are nothing more than word salad to you, then we frequent very different sides of the internet. But if these words don’t just sound like odd ad-libs, then you are probably familiar with the often fleeting in-nature side of digital beauty trends.

These viral micro-moments take up an excessive amount of space in my brain as I and many others seemed trapped in a never-ending cycle of deciphering what constitutes a fleeting trend and what will stand the test of time. 

Well, it seems we may have found the latter in a rakishly cool Japanese haircut that appears to be on its way to a major coiffure takeover. The hime cut, which roughly translates to princess cut, is categorized by a fringe bang paired with another distinct cut at or around the jawbone, temple, or a combination of all of the above, contrasting the remaining, longer portion of hair.

The style is believed to date back to the Heian period, 794–1185 CE, and hit mainstream prominence via Japanese and Korean starlets or “idols” beginning in the ‘70s. Bearing the aesthetics of a more reformed mullet, the purposely rakish cut scaled the scores of beauty prominence, going from a niche sub-genre standout to an increasingly popular style in the West.

Most recently, this look has gained traction within the Black celebrity circuit, specifically among Black women. Rye Lane star Vivian Oparah rocked a side-part variation of the cut at the BAFTA Awards. Ayo Edeibri and Congolese-Belgian singer and rapper Lous and the Yakuza (Marie Pierra Kakoma) also rocked the asymmetrical cut, and social media has been more than pleased with the looks.

This favor is especially understandable when you consider the rapid manner in which unconventional beauty motifs have popped off in Black spaces. This subversive styling ties in perfectly with the larger shift we’ve seen in Black artists who are exploring more alternative styles that challenge preset notions of Black beauty standards. 

The hime cut, in particular, shows a culturally fascinating intersection of heritage and style that further bolsters some of the expansive aesthetic strides we’ve seen over the past few years.

From JT’s artistically lined lips to the ever-editorialized makeup stylings of rapper-singer Doechii, this cut is just another in a long series of stylings that suggest we are on the brink of a major break in the mold of existing aesthetics, an exciting prospect in an era largely stifled by remakes and references.

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Black artists in country music: Beyoncé and beyond

Hidden in archives of the country music genre are some of the most musically talented Black artists who have significantly impacted the genre since its inception.

Artists like Ray Charles, Lesley Riddle, Jessie Mae Hemphill and Charley Pride among others have paved the way for modern Black country musicians like Darius Rucker, The War and Treaty and Beyoncé to take charge and diversify a white musician dominated genre.

To learn more about the Black roots in country music, tune into these artists’ historical contributions.

Lesley Riddle

Lesley Riddle’s historical contributions to the country music genre were never formally recognized until the 1960s when he released an album of his best work. He worked closely with The Carter Family. (Photo courtesy of Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina, Graphic in Canva made by Karina Torres) (Karina Torres)

In the 1920s and 30s, Lesley Riddle contributed to the country genre by influencing and helping The Carter Family rise to fame.

A.P. Carter was the founding member of The Carter Family and quickly became close friends with Riddle after they met in Tennessee. Riddle taught members of the group how to play guitar and the Carter-style picking that Maybelle Carter used in the band is directly influenced by Riddle’s guitar style.

One of the most notable songs by The Carter Family was the live performance of Riddle’s song “John Henry” by Maybelle Carter in 1963.

Riddle didn’t release music until the 1960s, with his album “Step By Step – Lesley Riddle Meets the Carter Family” which highlights blues, folk and country songs that Riddle sang and composed with The Carter Family.

He performed at the Smithsonian Folk Festival and the Mariposa Folk Festival, but most of his fame comes from the songs and compositions The Carter Family used and became famous for.

Jessie Mae Hemphill

Mississippi queen Jessie Mae Hemphill has left a legacy in the south. From her crooning vocals, folk lyricism and electrifying guitar skills, Hemphill’s music leaves a mark on the country music industry. (Photo courtesy of High Water Records, Graphic in Canva made by Karina Torres) (Karina Torres )

Jessie Mae Hemphill has left a country blues footprint on her home state of Mississippi, because of her unique vocal style and multi-instrumental talent.

Hemphill tried to connect with her roots by adding her own personal touch to traditional African American folk music. After suffering from a stroke in 1993, Hemphill was no longer able to play guitar, yet her influence as a country and blues icon remains.

Some of her most popular songs that display her diverse musical talent and lyricism are “She-Wolf,” “Tell Me You Love Me” and “Jessie’s Boogie,” which display her signature guitar style.

Her contribution to the genre allowed blues, folk and country music to thrive in the south where she grew up and lived most of her life. She truly left her stamp on the genre and made Mississippi proud.

Ray Charles

Ray Charles left an impact on the country music industry by releasing an album when he was told not to because of his race. However, his album was widely accepted and shows his talent as a musician by dipping into a different genre. (Photo courtesy of ABC Records/Tangerine Records, Graphic in Canva made by Karina Torres) (Karina Torres )

Ray Charles is a music industry name that cannot be forgotten. While his specialty is soul music, he also had a major influence on the country music genre.

Charles wanted to release a country music album, and while his label cautioned against it, he did anyway. In 1962, Charles released his album “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music”, which blended his bold musical style with the country genre.

By blending his signature R&B and soul style with a country genre, Charles’ vision for the album led to his success in the genre. The Grand Ole Opry recognized him in 2019, for his contributions to the music industry as a whole, but specifically the impact he had on country music.

Charley Pride

Often called “Country music’s first Black superstar” Charley Pride is one of the most famous Black country musicians. Pride’s legacy lives on and has inspired modern day Black country artists. (Photo courtesy of Greg Mathison/U.S. Department of Defense National Archive, Graphic in Canva made by Karina Torres) (Karina Torres )

Charley Pride’s country music career broke barriers and earned him the name “country music’s first Black superstar” when he rose to fame with his single “Just Between You and Me.”

Pride was born and raised in the segregated south, but this never stopped him from pursuing country music. Pride’s race was kept a secret for a while, and the first time people saw his face was on the album cover for his single “Just Between You and Me,” that topped the charts.

Pride was immediately nominated for a Grammy because of his song “Just Between You and Me” and booked a large show in Olympia Stadium in Detroit for 10,000 soon after.

Before rising to fame as a vocalist, Pride played baseball in the Negro American League in 1950. Pride was recruited to come to Nashville after country stars Red Sovine and Red Foley heard Pride singing in Montana. His talents have left an imprint on the country music genre forever.

Darius Rucker

Darius Rucker is a country music icon and was inspired by Charley Pride. He is widely known for his song “Wagon Wheel” and being the frontman for the band Hootie and The Blowfish. (Photo Courtesy of Zach Catanzareti via Flickr, Graphic in Canva made by Karina Torres) (Karina Torres )

Darius Rucker’s love for country music was inspired by the Black artists before him. Now he’s one of the most notable Black country artists, most well-known for his rendition of “Wagon Wheel.”

Rucker’s love for country music started when he listened to his mother’s records of Pride growing up in South Carolina.

Rucker said the music industry in Nashville was uncertain about him when he arrived because of his race, yet he’s one of the most notable modern day Black country artists.

Known for his hit songs “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” and “Alright,” Rucker’s music has topped country charts and brought fans to the genre.

Before delving into country music,he started off as the frontman for the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish. Rucker’s music legacy continues with his latest album “Carolyn’s Boy” which was released in October 2023.

The War and Treaty

The War and Treaty is a dynamic husband and wife duo making waves in country music by blending their soul and folk roots with the country genre. These rising stars have four albums out and collaborate with other up and coming musicians. (Photo Courtesy of Austin Hargrave/Mercury Nashville Records, Graphic in Canva made by Karina Torres) (Karina Torres )

Husband and wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter formed The War and Treaty in 2014, the duo has four albums out and have made waves in the genre by mixing genres.

The War and Treaty blend their country roots with soul, blues and gospel elements that truly display the deep Black roots of the music industry and how genres intertwine.

The War and Treaty are the first Black musicians to be nominated for duo of the year at the Country Music Association Awards.

One of the duo’s most popular songs that display their dynamic lyricism and soulful vocals is “Set my Soul on Fire,” a powerful country song about passion and fear.

The duo is featured on “Hey Driver” a song from rising country star Zach Bryan’s self titled album and indie artist Wilder Woods’, “Be Yourself”.

Before rising to fame, Tanya Trotter starred in “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” and sang with Lauryn Hill, but she never rose to fame until 1996. Michael Trotter met her at an art festival and they bonded over their love of music to create The War and Treaty.

Beyoncé

Beyoncé’s new country album “Cowboy Carter” is set to release March 29. While country is not her usual genre, fans are excited for her take on the country music genre. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images, Graphic in Canva made by Mia Huss and Karina Torres) (Karina Torres)

Beyoncé is making waves with her new music and upcoming country album, fans are counting the days until they see the country version of Beyoncé.

Beyoncé’s new singles “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “16 CARRIAGES” are country songs with elements of pop, soul and R&B that allude to her upbringing in Houston, Texas and experience as a Black woman in America.

Beyoncé choosing to release country music is much different than her typical R&B, pop and house music, but this bold career decision has brought recognition to country music’s Black roots.

In an Instagram post, Beyoncé shared her appreciation for the genre and the excitement she has for releasing country music.

Fans are anticipating her new country album “Cowboy Carter” which will release March 29.

From historical Black country musicians like Lesley Riddle to modern day artists like Beyoncé and The War and Treaty, Black roots have always been a part of country music.

Listen to the playlist below to hear the voices of these country musicians, both old and new, that you won’t want to miss.

RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment

Beyoncé’s country roots

If you somehow haven’t heard: Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, her eighth studio album and the much-anticipated sequel to Renaissance, drops on Friday. Its lead single “Texas Hold ‘Em” made history when it debuted at the top of the country charts last month.

“I feel honored to be the first Black woman with the number one single on the Hot Country Songs chart,” Beyoncé wrote in an Instagram post last week.

With this album, she’s not just racking up downloads and inspiring TikTok dances, she’s also drawing attention to the whitewashing of a genre that has long silenced its Black voices — and, predictably, drawing backlash from country music gatekeepers.

The century of Black country that led to Cowboy Carter

For over a century, Black artists have been central to country music — and for just as long, their work has been overlooked or under-compensated by the predominantly white country music establishment.

Just ask songwriter, educator, and New York Times bestselling novelist Alice Randall. She’s the first Black woman to co-write a No. 1 country song, with Trisha Yearwood’s 1995 hit “XXX’s and OOO’s,” and has written many other country hits … all of which were performed by white artists.

“I thought I was going to retire from country and never see” the day a Black woman would hit the top of the charts, she told Vox.

Randall, who teaches about the Black roots of country music and has a book coming out on the subject, told Today, Explained host Noel King that Beyoncé’s success was an effort nearly a century in the making.

Let’s dig into some of that century’s highlights!

Randall traces Black country’s recorded origins to DeFord Bailey’s 1927 harmonica performance of “Pan American Blues” onstage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

Despite Bailey’s popularity, he endured racism while touring the Jim Crow South with white Opry performers.

“DeFord was able to defy and evade the structural obstacles created to keep his voice off the radio and to keep him out of the public. But he never did have the same opportunities that his white contemporaries had,” Randall said.

The next great to know, she says, would be Memphis-born Black pianist, Lil Hardin Armstrong, for playing on “Blue Yodel #9” with her husband Louis Armstrong on trumpet and Jimmie Rodgers on vocals. Only, at the time, you wouldn’t have known either Armstrong was behind the work: Only Rodgers’s name was put on the 1930 record, and many listeners considered it a white song.

“Often they took the exact same recording and marketed it, one to a white audience and one to a Black audience, sometimes changing the name of the group,” Randall said. “There’s a lot of cultural redlining that is actually separating things that are not intrinsically separate.”

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Then in the 1960s and ’70s, Black country stars tried to make their mark — with differing levels of success.

Charley Pride became a breakout country superstar with 52 top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. He had a remarkable rise from a Negro Leagues baseball player to appearing at the Grand Ole Opry in 1967 (the first Black performer to grace its stage since DeFord Bailey’s last appearance in 1941) to winning Entertainer of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards in 1971.

But when Pride’s debut album was released, the label deliberately omitted any mention of his race and didn’t put his face on the cover.

“They wanted people to fall in love with the voice in the records first,” Randall said.

Linda Martell didn’t share the same success. Her one and only album, Color Me Country, was released in 1970 on Plantation Records, and she was the first Black female country artist to perform at the Opry.

“It’s an extraordinary album,” Randall said. “She’s on Hee Haw, she’s on the Opry, but she never goes incognegro. The very first time she comes out as a Black woman, there just isn’t the traction. She experiences myriad micro and macro aggressions navigating Nashville. She is not allowed in this space.”

Randall says Ray Charles’s 1962 blockbuster record Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music is arguably the most important country album, and certainly the most important Black country album, until this moment.

“It was constructing and deconstructing country music,” she said — something of a spiritual predecessor to Cowboy Carter.

Black country’s time has come

Black artists have made more inroads into mainstream country music in recent years, but not without challenges.

Darius Rucker has won a Grammy and scored 10 No. 1 hits since leaving Hootie and the Blowfish, but was told that audiences “would never accept a Black country singer.”

Country fans accused “Old Town Road” singer Lil Nas X of “cultural appropriation” for wearing a cowboy hat — even though Black cowboys have a long history in the American West.

Other Black women country musicians with massive songwriting and vocal talents have struggled to break through to mainstream success.

Beyoncé herself weathered backlash after performing Lemonade’s boot-stomping country hit “Daddy Lessons” with the Dixie Chicks (now known as The Chicks), at the CMA Awards in 2016.

While evolving the genre in her own way, Beyoncé is “preserving and spotlighting past genius, while manifesting her own present genius, and creating a path forward for further innovation,” Randall said.

She links Beyoncé’s second single off the album, “16 Carriages,” to other iconic country songs: the Carter Family’s mournful “Can the Circle Be Unbroken,” Tennessee Ernie Ford’s rendition of the coal miner’s lament “Sixteen Tons,” Deana Carter’s ode to lost innocence in “Strawberry Wine,” and Randall’s own “XXX’s and OOO’s” about the balance between love and money.

“No one again can say a Black woman can’t chart. No one again can say — which is a thing that was unfortunately said around town — ‘Bring me the right Black woman, bring me the one that’s pretty enough, who sings well enough and has some songs, and we’ll make her a star.’”

Instead, Beyoncé’s star power is bringing in audiences outside the typical country fan base “because some music is being served up that is just irresistible.”

If you’re feeling inspired to keep listening, check out this playlist Today, Explained pulled together on Spotify!

This story appeared originally in Today, Explained, Vox’s flagship daily newsletter. Sign up here for future editions.

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